


Daddy's Little Soldier.

by jezebel



Series: Who's your daddy? [3]
Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Kid Fic, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-15
Updated: 2010-11-15
Packaged: 2017-10-13 05:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/133566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jezebel/pseuds/jezebel





	Daddy's Little Soldier.

\------------------------

Part 1 - A day in the life…

Anita stared at the two rows of numbers in the book in front of her and wondered when this had become her existance. Many mothers sacrificed careers in order to look after children but she felt as if she had given her life. Double entry book keeping was certainly not something that she had learned during her years of studying for her preternatural biology degree and she would never have pictured herself as a glorified secretary, and yet here she was, dealing with the inventory for the Circus of the Damned as if she was nothing more than a blonde bimbo of the type that she so despised.

Deciding that she would not get any more work done while in such a foul mood Anita instead turned her mind to the more exciting and less mundane parts of her existence, it was nearly time for Julianna to come home and she would no doubt get an earful of news about what the girl had done with her day.

It had been strange at first, when Julianna had gone to day-care for the first time Anita had felt the need to follow after her, wanting to know that her baby was safe, now she was used to it and was almost glad of the time off it gave her. The six year old was enjoying school as much as anyone would expect her too and it was good that she was mixing with children of her own age. Growing up was going to be hard enough without the girl having extra problems of not mixing well or even worse that the other kids would find out who her parents were.

Anita sighed as she thought it over, no matter how hard they seemed to try there was no way that Julianna would have a normal life. Anita often wondered if she had done the right thing in having the baby at all, after all she had lost a lot of her own humanity before she was 25 and she had watched as her daughter was exposed to things that a child should not see. Of course this was the reality and she protected her child as much as any parent could and hoped that in the long run it would be enough, balanced with a stable family home it would have to be, after all they may be different but they were the only family that she had.

“Hello?” A voice called as Anita sat in her chair, a smile spread across Anita’s face at the voice which had followed his brief knock on the door.

Jason had been living with her for over two years now and he still knocked every time he entered the town house that she had eventually moved back into. At first Richard had wanted her to move in with him and Jean Claude had not wanted her to leave the safety of the Circus but after the truce with the council St. Louis had returned to a relatively peaceful town and she had hungered for independence once again. Instead of siding with either one of her male lovers she had instead chosen to accept Jason into her home, exercising one of her rights as Lupa to take a lieutenant of her own to protect her cubs. Of course traditionally the Lupa chose the Geri as her female lieutenant but since Sylvie and Anita had a tentative peace she had instead chosen the only wolf other than Richard that had fought at her side on more than one occasion and survived. There was something to be said for a man who would face his fears to help others.

“I’m in the study.” Anita called as she stood to greet him, surprised when she saw that he had Julianna behind him. The girl seemed sheepish for some reason, clinging on to Jason’s leg in a move she had not used since she was 3 or 4.

“I picked her up a little early, Mrs. Rogers wanted to have a word with you but I said you were working. I’m sure that woman thinks I am Julianna’s father.” Jason said cheekily, that was one thing that Anita loved about him, no matter what he never changed and he had never stopped flirting with her either. “I swear I do more for this little girl than Jean-Claude or Richard does.”

“You know what they’d do if either one of them heard you say that…” Anita said with a sarcastic tone.

“Yeah I know, we’ve had that discussion in detail on many occasions, but I know that you’d protect me.”

“Don’t count on it.” Anita added in mock threat before crouching down the few feet needed until she was at the same height as her daughter. “What’s wrong Anna?” She asked, using the nickname that Richard had christened his daughter with, hoping that it would stop other people using the more masculine Jules, that they had adopted. Anita also assumed it was to draw attention away from the fact that she was named after Asher's previous human servant.

“Mrs. Rogers said I was naughty but I didn’t mean it.” Julianna said with a pout. Anita looked up at Jason who shrugged and then reached down, using his superior strength to lift up the growing girl. If he wanted to he’d probably still be able to carry her when she was 9 or 10, although why he would want to she did not know.

“Let’s get you changed out of your uniform and into your play clothes. Daddy will be over soon and he’s taking you to see David.” Jason said as he threw her over his shoulder and then turned to Anita. “Maybe you should call the school, see what our little monster has been up to now.”

Anita smiled as she watched them leave, Jason would make a great father one day and until then he was the best Uncle to Julianna, being there when Jean-Claude couldn’t or when Richard wouldn’t.

She headed back to her office, ignoring the paperwork but knowing she had to call the school, wondering what Julianna had been up to now.

\---------------------

Janet Rogers prided herself on being an open-minded liberal, she was aging fast but not too fast to remember the sixties, she knew what rights had been fought for and that people had their own lives. What she did worry about was that this new liberalism could lead to them inadvertantly damaging the next generation, after all children needed some guidance when growing up and without it they would run wild. That was why she was so worried for Julianna Blake.

When Julianna, or Anna as she was known, had first come into her class the child had been very quiet, withdrawn even, not really interacting well with the other children. Her mother had explained that the poor girl had not mixed with other children before, but Janet was pleased to see that the girl blossomed under her care. The problem was that lately Anna seemed to want to live in some kind of fantasy world and frankly she was scaring the other children with her tales of monsters and raising the dead. That was what had prompted her to call a meeting with the girl’s mother. She was surprised that the woman called her back so quickly, one of her male friends had picked the girl up from school. That was another issue that she would raise, it could not be healthy to have so many different caregivers and yet on the list of people to pick up Julianna there was a Caleb, a Nathaniel, A Jason, A Richard and in an emergency the name of a police detective, also a male, to call, surely this was not healthy for any child.

Janet looked over the folder of evidence she had collected and stood when she saw the familiar face at the door, she was surprised when Ms. Anita Blake was followed in by one of the men. It was not often that she went anywhere with one of them and if she did it was not this one.

"Good Evening, Ms. Blake." Janet said, making sure to use the correct title and not mistaking her for a Mrs as she had done once before. After the tongue lashing she had gotten the first time it was not a mistake that she wished to make a second time.

"Mrs. Rogers." Anita replied tersely, a little annoyed at having been called away from her time with her daughter. "This is Julianna's father Richard Zeeman."

"Oh, hello." Janet said, slightly caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a father after so many months of not having met him. She briefly wondered if the different surnames and abodes meant that he was single, he was certainly good looking.

"Please, take a seat." She continued, covering her slip with a wide gesture for the two seats at a table.

She had made sure to bring in larger chairs than the smaller ones which the children used, ones which complemented the child sized activity tables, but even with chairs borrowed from the older classes it was almost comical to watch the very tall man trying to fold his frame into the small seat.

"Now, the reason I called this meeting is partly just because I like to get to know the parents of my pupils, but also to give you a progress report on Julianna's well being." Janet began cheerily, she always tried to start these meetings on a positive note, it made the bad news easier to take. "On the whole Anna is well liked, she shows a talent for sports and is exceptionally imaginative…"

"But?" Anita prompted, seeing straight through the patronising bullshit of the kindergarten teacher. She was not a five year old and she knew when she was being fed a line. Richard coughed to quieten her as he shifted uncomfortably, wishing that Anita had learned some level of tact when dealing with humans. He had always known that she was better with killing people than socialising with them but he did not want his daughter to grow up with the type of manners her mother had, otherwise Anna would be a nightmare when she was older.

"Well, Anna seems to have an interest in the occult and in preternatural creatures that sometimes scares the other children and she tells stories that I'm sure are pure fantasy."

Janet watched the parents clearly for any sign of worry but was surprised when neither flinched at her words, nor did they seem worried. She reached for the file she had built up and drew out the pictures that Julianna had drawn, perhaps they just needed to see some of this disturbing evidence.

"Last week the children were asked to draw a picture of their family, I was a little troubled that Anna gave her father fangs and told me he was a Master Vampire, there was also a man named Asher that she identified as some kind of demon too. In fact it took her three hours to do what was supposed to be a simple task and there was a few werewolves amongst the number too, not to mention Ted, who I assume is some sort of imaginary friend as she didn't seem to know how to draw him."

The two parents looked at each other, Richard was obviously in two minds what to tell the woman, not surprising considering he was still in the closet and protecting his own job as well as wanting to protect his family. There were laws about discrimination but it was hard to implement them and most of it was too little too late. Anita was trying to keep a low profile after her youth as a well known celebrity, having stopped working with RPIT she was also putting in less hours with Animators Inc and favoured part time work at the Clubs Jean-Claude owned and helping Ronnie out on the occassional case. No one wanted Anna to be in any more danger than she had already been subjected to, especially not her mother who seemed to have mellowed in motherhood.

"Obviously, having met Mr. Zeeman it is clear that her father is not a vampire, and I assume that the other stories are tall tales too." Mrs. Rogers added as if needing to fill what felt like an uncomfortable silence. To Anita's shock it was Richard who spoke up first, taking the risk of denying the teacher the satisfaction of being right.

"Actually that's her other father." He said, Janet looked at him surprised, seeing that her shock was mirrored in Anita's face. "If Anita and I were married then I assume that you could call me Anna's step-father."

"And this is because your first 'partner' is now a vampire?" Janet asked sceptically.

"Yes, Jean-Claude is a Vampire." Anita said, not really lying as he was now a vampire, she was just neglecting to mention that he had been that way for over 400 years. "As for the rest of it we do have a few close friends that have lycanthropy, but I didn't realise that it was a crime to have an illness."

"Of course it isn't." Janet said defensively. She wondered if she had miscalculated or if this was only half the story. "I just wanted to clear this up. Bring it to your attention as it were. These days you never can tell if a child is making these things up or if it is a sign of other problems at home."

"Thank you." Richard said, allowing his charismatic smile to spread across his face. "We'll have a word with her, try to limit the stories."

"Well, okay then." Mrs. Rogers conceded. "Will we see you at the parent-teacher night next month?" She was flirting with him now and this time Anita stepped in, taking Richard's hand to signal that they were together. Janet could still not decide the relationship between the two who seemed to have played it cool throughout, although there was some underlying energy that flowed between them.

"We'll be there." Anita said as she pulled Richard out behind her, as they left Janet Rogers decided that Julianna was definitely as child that would need watching.

\----------------------

Part 2 - Crisis Averted?

After the scare of being called into the school to discuss Julianna's 'situation' Anita had some hard choices to make. She had tried to bring up her daughter as best she could given their unusual circumstances and had spent a few weeks with Marianne and Verne allowing them to teach Julianna to control her growing powers but she had not thought before that the child's family would cause problems. She knew that their grouping was unorthodox but Julianna was happy, well adjusted and bright, who her father was or rather what he was did not really come into it.

Anita wondered if she should have taken Richard up on his offer of marriage, after all at least that would give Anna the appearance of a normal home life, but now the teacher seemed a little more distant, Anita was certain that her sex life had suffered since she had had a child, but her friendships seemed to have experienced a down turn in fortune too, she couldn't remember the last time she had been out or done something.

Julianna was currently with Ronnie, the private investigator spent a lot of time looking after David because despite not being a rat she was dating one of them and she took more care of the child than anyone else. Anita did not trust many people with her daughter but she knew now that Ronnie would kill for the children, she was not proud that she had taught the PI how to kill but she was glad that at least one of her friends could deal with the girl, there was far too much testosterone around the five year old some days.

Anita was supposed to be at the Circus to do some paperwork, but as soon as she saw Asher she knew that she would not get any done.

"Ah, How is Julianna this evening?" He purred, knowing that he had a small amount of control over the young girl but tired of having to find out from the source through her dreams how she was. For a Master Vampire he very rarely saw his young human servant, but all of his protests about this issue fell on deaf ears, for some reason Anita had never fully trusted him with Julianna after he had let Malcolm come too close.

"She's fine." Anita said with a sigh, she should have known that taking the books home was the only way to work here at night.

"I suppose that she's with Monsieur Zeeman…" Asher said, as if the name caused him pain. Anita knew that there was no love lost between the pair but she was tired of playing go between for the demons of the city.

"Actually she's with her friends. It's amazing what time with children does for her. She is actually beginning to think that she's a human too." Anita said, she hated more than anything that Julianna was surrounded by monsters, she knew what it was like to be one of them but that did not mean that she wanted the same for her daughter.

"But Ma Petite, Julianna is so much more than that." Jean-Claude said, as if he could not be left out of any conversation that went along such lines. "Her power alone is enough to make angels weep."

Anita could not help but smile, some days she wondered if Jean-Claude's grasp of the English Language really was as poor as he said it was, she knew that he had lied about a lot of other things and when he said poetic things like that she wondered if there was not more to him than even she knew.

"I'd rather that you didn't tell her things like that. Richard and I agree that Anna needs a normal childhood."

"Very well Ma Petite, as usual I will bow to your superior knowledge of this age." He said, of course he understood this age as well as she did, if not better and that was what had made him such a risk to the council. Then again, maybe he had just read too much Anne Rice.

"That's good, because there is no way that I was changing my mind." Anita said as she gathered her books, she would take them home, at least there she got some privacy. "Now if you boys will excuse me, some of us have work to do."

"You wound me Petite, our work is just different." Jean-Claude said, Anita saw the gleam in his eye and knew that she did not want to ask, it usually meant that he was going to punish one of the younger, subservient Vampires and having witnessed his idea of his 'work' she did not want another display.

"I have to go." Anita said, pushing her way out of the room and towards the exit, glad that she had thought to bring her car instead of travelling in with Jason, at least this way she could leave when she wanted rather than waiting for him to finish his set at Guilty Pleasures.

It had been a long night, but had she known about the call she would receive later that night Anita might have decided to stay with Asher and Jean-Claude, better the undead double act than a call on a RPIT case.

\--------------------

The call came a few minutes after Anita had come in, she was readying herself for a long soak in the bath before settling down to a long night of book keeping when it rang. She was not expecting a call but old habits died hard and she picked it up hastily, knowing that in her former life this would have been something urgent.

"Anita?"

It was a voice that she had not expected to hear in a while, Zerbrowski, now head of one of two RPIT teams in the city had not spoken to her since a while before she had been kicked off the team, now he was calling her she knew that it must be a bad case. Orders were to keep it away from her unless there was no other leads. Anita was deemed too much of a loose cannon to be allowed to roam the city on police business, notto mention the times she had used her association with them for her own gain.

"What do you want Zerbrowski?" Anita asked, balancing the phone between her shoulder and her neck while she reached to turn off the bath water. Something told her she would not get the soak she wanted tonight. "Didn't anyone tell you that I'm retired."

"Yeah, right." He said, trying to laugh but failing miserably. "People like you don't retire, they just switch sides."

"I'm still one of the good guys, Zerbrowski, I just stopped seeing it in black and white. Now you have thirty seconds to tell me what it is or I'm hanging up."

"Okay, we need you to come down to the station, give us a statement about where you were tonight and for the last week. Do you want me to send a car?"

There was no humour in his voice and Anita wondered what she was supposed to have done, she had only been a suspect a few times before, when she had had to kill people to protect herself and her pack, now they were asking her to come in and she had no clue why. She hated being out of the loop, she supposed that was what she got for wanting a quiet life, at least when she was in the thick of things she could see the alligators she was ass deep in, now she wasn't even sure if they were alligators, she just knew they were trouble.

"Can I ask what this is about?" Anita asked, already trying to remember Catherine's number to get a good lawyer, she could not remember the last time she had spoken to her friend but she was sure that the other woman would help.

"Homicide." Zerbrowski said flatly. "The type that only the Executioner would deal with."

"I'm not the Executioner anymore." Anita said, knowing that Larry had since taken over a lot of the jobs that she wouldn't do. "When I said I had retired I meant it."

"Killers don't retire Anita, it's a part of you, as much as it is for any Monster." He retorted.

"I'm not a monster." Anita said, but he had already gone, probably too disgusted at her life choices to consider it appropriate conversation, especially if he was one of those that would interview her. Anita didn't know what was going on but before she left she made three calls, one to Ronnie to extend Anna's stay, one to a lawyer that she had thought of and one to Richard, whatever was going on she needed the Pack and the Pard behind her, she needed answers and the only way to get them was to ask around.

If there was trouble brewing she at least wanted to be prepared.

\----------------

The police station was much as she remembered, although there were no cuddly penguins or wide smiles to greet her. In fact there was a distinct air of hostility as she went in. Maybe it was because the PD never liked it when one of there own was brought in for questioning, but a lot of them had still not accepted her as a part of the new way of life, a lot of them didn't even accept the way things were now. On second thoughts it was probably because she even dared to accept the change, it was obvious from the glares she received and the whispers of "Vampire Lover" and other less savoury expressions that they did not accept her at all.

Zerbrowski met her at the department entrance, walking her through to the interview room that she had seen before and she took a seat, making it clear that she was waiting for something.

"You're not under arrest Anita but I should warn you anyway that anything you do say could be used against you in any later cases." He said, it was strange to hear formality in a voice that she was so used to hearing sarcasm from.

"I need to wait for my lawyer." Anita said and saw when he nodded stiffly. Maybe there was still someone that the police liked less than Vampires and werewolves, if anything lawyers were a possibility for such a title - the least liked villians in the world.

Zerbrowski sighed but nodded and leaned back against the wall, watching her intently as he did so and obviously not wanting to leave her alone for a moment. Anita wondered with some satisfaction if he thought that she would literally disappear if he left her alone, they all thought that she was some type of witch but she didn't have those powers. She had a degree of death magic that scared even the strongest practitioners that she had met and she was an adept for other channels of energy such as the Munin and such but she was not vaudin, nor was she a white witch. She did not do spells she only channelled energies.

After twenty minutes her lawyer finally arrived and silently took a seat next to her. Joe Chancellor was a top lawyer when he had been attacked by the lycanthrope that had killed his wife. He had survived the attack and come out of it a better lawyer and stronger man, all except that three nights a month he was hairy. He worked with Catherine at her law firm and had moved to the city when one of his collegues had nearly discovered his secret. Now that he was in St. Louis he was subservient to the Pack but also helped out where possible with pro bono work for those that needed it. This was the first call he had received from this far up the pack hierachy and he hoped that whatever it was he was did a good job, it would not bode well for him if he let down their Lupa.

"Detective Zerbrowski, this is Joe Chancellor, my attorney. Joe, this is Detective Zerbrowski." Anita said, making the introductions as she saw the way Joe was looking at the other man, it was clear that he did not think much of the detective.

"May I ask why my client was called in at this time of night to give evidence?" Joe asked. "Is she being charged with anything at this time?"

"No. We merely asked Ms. Blake to come in and answer some questions about her whereabouts on a few occasions, most recently the night before last. And we were hoping that she could help us with our inquiries."

"And she is free to leave at anytime?" Joe asked making sure that Anita knew her full rights without telling her directly and perhaps undermining the evidence she would give.

"Of course." Zerbrowski said with a smile.

"What is this about?" Anita asked her first question of the interview. "You mentioned homicide over the phone but who am I supposed to have killed."

"There are a number of victims." Zerbrowski answered, taking out some photographs and spreading them across the table. "As you can see they were all killed in the same way."

Anita closely examined the dozen or so pictures that lay in front of her. The first thing that she noticed was how clean the cuts into the body seemed to be, the second thing that she noticed was that the heads were not attached to the body, in some they lay close by but in others they were missing. It was instinct to look at the hearts and when she looked and saw that they too were missing she knew what they were dealing with here.

"They were Vampires weren't they?" Anita asked. "Someone is killing the Vampires of the city." There was genuine shock in her voice, she had not heard of any of them being killed which meant that they were not from Jean-Claude's immediate group but if they were dying as fast as the pictures suggested then she was sure that sooner or later one of his inner sanctum of Vampires would be taken too.

"19 in total. Not all from this city but most within the last few weeks. Do you know anything about it?"

"No." Anita said wondering if they had suspected her because she had once done this as a proffession, still did when Larry needed a hand or if they had suspected her because of their own dislike for Vampires. It was hardly appealing to them that she was dating one. "I don't recognise any of the victims either. Just that this is the way a good executioner would kill a Vampire. Sometimes a stake is not enough but if you take their heads and burn the heart it is impossible for them to come back."

"You don't have to say any more." Joe advised and Anita was starting to believe him. She did not have anything that she could do to help and she resented the fact that they had implicated her as the murderer, it was a long time since she had killed a Vampire and she had never killed indiscriminatorily. Anita liked to have a reason for killing things and sport was not reason enough.

"Ms. Blake, one more question." Zerbrowski asked, she nodded and then tilted her head slightly as if waiting for him to continue. "Do you know of anyone else that is capable of such a crime? Or anyone that would have a grudge against the Vampires enough to do this?"

"Well, there are the Humans First groups and Right to Death campaigners but no one else. At least not that I know of."

She was lying of course, Edward was capable but she had not seen him in over two years and supposed that he was off doing his own thing and making money assasinating people or things that she was not involved with. They had parted company on good terms and she did not want to incriminate him. She was actually glad that he was not there because life was quieter when Edward was away, she also knew of a few more powerful Vampires and Werewolves that could have done the murder but those in the city answered to Jean-Claud and any others would have stood out like a sore thumb. Off the top of her head she could not think of anyone else that would do it.

"Can I go now?" Anita asked impatiently. "I have to pick up my daughter and put her to bed. This has been unsettling enough for her."

"You're free to leave Ms. Blake but don't think about leaving the city any time soon, we may need to speak to you again."

As Anita left she wondered when he had become a stranger, this detective that she had once shared barbs and jokes with. Now he was barely comfortable to be in the same room as her and she was sitting on the other side of the interview table. She knew that this was her problem now too, not only because it involved the Vampires but because she was in the frame for murder. If she ever got caught and sent to prison for murder she at least wanted it to be for one of the dozens that she had commited rather than for one she had not; there was no way that she was taking the wrap for someone else's kill. Especially not when they were killing what must have been fledglings for nothing other than blood sport. They may be off kilter but Anita still had morals, they were just less black and white than most people's.

\-------------------------

Part 3 - Death Comes Calling.

(Warning: Minor Character Death)

There was something wrong in the house when Anita arrived home, she could sense it and Joe seemed off too. She turned to him, knowing that his sense of danger would be better honed than hers.

"What is it?" She asked, long ago realising that Wolves sensed not only danger but could smell when something was off. He had not been to her house before but he was having a reaction to something and that worried her more than her own paranoias.

"A man." He stated, taking a sniff as if trying to work out more just from his enhanced sense of smell. When he didn't add anything further Anita realised that she would have to question him.

"Is it Jason?" She asked, but Joe shook his head immediately knowing that the Lupa's lieutenant would be there but this was a different scent one that he had not expected. Anita reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the gun, she was not carrying it on her body for the simple reason that she had just been to the police station and they seemed to be looking for any reason to arrest her. She had a licence but not one to carry concealed, at least not anymore. They seemed to have a problem with her carrying a hidden weapon because chances are she was likely to use it.

"I'll go first." Joe said. He knew that his life would be over if the intruder carried silver bullets but if he let Anita get shot he was dead anyway. Richard was that kind of leader.

"No way." Anita said curtly. "Stay behind me." If someone was after her then she would not let anyone else take her bullet, besides she was Lupa and she took that as seriously as Joe would take Richard's threat of hurting anyone that didn't protect her or her family.

She reached the door and put the key into it, standing to one side as she threw it open and then went in, gun extended and clicking the safety off as she went. She was met in the hall by Edward, his stance mirroring hers as they faced off guns pointed in each others faces and a look of concentration that would lead to death if they were not careful.

"Lower weapons on three." Edward said plainly. "One. Two. Three."

At three they both lowered their guns slowly and stood, Edward smiled as Anita still looked on edge, as if she did not wholly trust him. That was good, he had worried that she was losing her edge, motherhood would do that to a person giving them a certain level of sentimentaility that could lead to sloppiness and if not countered death. Edward was glad that she had not completely lost her natural mistrust of everyone, especially not someone like him. There was a clear difference between trusting someone to kill with you or trusting someone not to kill you, he hoped that she never lost the former but that she was wary of the latter.

"It's okay Joe, he's a friend." She said, holding up a hand as the other man tried to step forward to intervene. Even after a few years as Lupa some of the pack still questioned her ability to look after herself. He was one of those infuriating men that thought women were unable to defend themselves, especially mortal, human women. Joe did not seem happy. "Joe Chancellor, this is Ted Forrester." Anita said.

Edward nodded his greeting but did not speak. Joe stood down and backed off slightly. This made Edward smirk, it was obvious that the monsters of the city still knew who he was, maybe they told their children bedtime stories about the big bad man that would come after them at night. He hoped so, it was so much better when they feared you. They got a look in their eyes before you killed them and that was what made the killing worth while, that and the hunt that lead up to the killing. When he tired of that Edward was sure he would tire of living.

"Joe. Tell Richard I'll be by tommorow." She said, he looked at her in confusion and Anita rolled her eyes. "I know that you have to call him, report to him what happened. Just tell him I'm busy tonight."

"Okay Anita. Call me if you need me." Joe said on his way out.

With that he was gone, Anita shut the door behind her and bolted it, glad to see that though Edward had broken in he had not busted the lock. At least it gave her another degree of safety tonight.

"I didn't know that you were in town." She said wearily, she was tired and knowing that she had to face this before she went to bed was not helping. Edward's visits invariably ended in danger or death and she really was too tired to go back out again. She was used to a more sedentary lifestyle than she had once had.

"Just passing through." He said, not allowing his blank mask to falter one iota. "Thought I'd drop by and say hi."

"Edward, you've been gone three years and you suddenly decide to drop in for a visit. This wouldn't have anything to do with the Vampire killings would it?" She asked, it was not the first time she had questioned whether he was involved but she had ruled him out thinking that he was out of town. His presence there tonight could not be a coincidence, she didn't believe in those anymore.

There was a small flicker of something unidentifiable in Edward's eyes but apart from that he remained his usual stoic self.

"The last time this many Vampires were killed it was down to you. Now you're back in town and they are dying again, systematically killed as only a true hunter would kill them. You can't blame a girl for being a bit suspicious." Anita reasoned.

Edward sounded almost wistful as he replied.

"I wish these were my kills Anita, but the Vampires know that Death retired when the Executioner became Queen of the Damned."

Anita didn't laugh at the intended joke but then Edward had not expected her to, she didn't like to be reminded that she was one of the monsters and he supposed that was because part of her was still human. He envied that sometimes but then had she not given in to those emotions she could have been one of the best, he hoped that the humanity did not get her killed.

"They call her GVH, some Vamps say it means Greatest Vampire Hunter, others say it means Grievous Vampire Harm. Either way she's bad news."

Anita was angry, she didn't know why Edward was telling her this and she wondered when he had suddenly started caring about people that killed Vampires, he hadn't given a thought to it before.

"She's pissed off a few people and they want me to track her. I thought that seeing as this was on your territory you might want to help." Edward said, not mentioning that the added armies he had heard she was acquiring would help as back up, at least as warning to the Vampires if nothing else.

Anita couldn't be sure but she thought this was his way of asking for Back up. She supposed that she owed him one after he had saved Julianna, she just didn't know if he was calling in that debt or not. Edward waited patiently for a moment, reaching into a bag that she had not seen before and pulling out a picture that he handed to Anita. She looked at it and took in the blonde girl, a few years younger than Anita and a lot like she had been at a young age. She also seemed to have a look of death in her eyes that spoke volumes of what she had been through. It was the type of look that Anita hoped her own daughter would never acquire, one that spoke of a loss of innocence and an unhealthy thirst for blood and revenge. A look that would not be out of place in the eyes of a psychopath or a monster.

"Her name is Gloria Van Helsing, she's 19 and carries with her the knowledge of hunters learned from her family."

"Does she have a Bram Stoker fixation?" Anita asked, amused that the girl felt the need to take the name of the man from perhaps the most famous Vampire book in history.

"Actually Stoker used a real person in the book, didn't even bother to change the name. She's the great grandchild of the original. She reminds me a lot of you at her age."

"Prejudiced?" Anita asked with a slight smile.

"Ruthless." Edward countered humourlessly, Anita chose to ignore it, if she was as good as he said or as good as the pictures the police had showed her seemed to show then she was trouble and Anita needed as many people as possible to help her. Even if Edward was not the most trustworthy of people he was the best killer she knew and that was what they needed. Also unlike a lot of other people that she knew Edward had no qualms about killing a young girl, he would kill anyone if the price or reason was right.

\------------------

Willie McCoy was running scared, he knew that his life would be over if he stumbled and as he tripped on a grave stone he could feel the life he had lived flash before his eyes. It was not much, a runner for a minor drug lord, a rather unfortunate accident with a Vampire, a run in with Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter and now he was going to die at the hands of another hunter, one that he had not seen around town before. Whoever she was had obviously not heard that St. Louis was the town that belonged to the Monsters, oh sure, there were still more mortals but the lycanthropes and Vampires were more numerous here than anywhere else in the New World and he was sure that whatever happened his death would be avenged.

"I told you to stop running." The voice said as he began to get up, he felt a blow to the back of his head and he curled up instinctively to get away. "Don't make me tell you again."

Willie looked up, he saw the young blonde girl and wondered if he had woken up in some dodgy eighties movie where the cheerleader killed Vampires. Of course that was now banned as a form of discriminatory propaganda but this girl looked less of a Muffy and more of a killer.

"Wha…What do you want?" He asked, trying not to sound too scared. She smiled widely, a grin that you would only expect to see from a psychopath and then spoke again.

"I want to kill you." She said firmly, pulling a sword from a spine sheath and reaching it out towards his neck.

Willie wasn't stupid, he knew that he was not immortal and that beheading was one of the few ways to kill a Vampire, whoever this girl was she meant business. He had only one card left in his hand and he hoped that playing it would not get them all into much deeper trouble. All that really mattered at that moment was living though and despite the fact that he was at the bottom of the vampiric food chain self-preservation was at the forefront of his mind.

"You can't kill me." He said as she paused, stroking the blade up and down his neck in a strange caress and making him even more scared at telling her.

"I'll give you two minutes to tell me why not." She said, with one eyebrow raised. Usually they begged, pleaded, even threatened her; it made an interesting change that one of them actually ordered her not to kill them.

"I'm friends with the Executioner. With Anita. If you kill me she'll be pissed." Willie said, praying that this would work. "She'll come after you and when Anita means business she really will not stop until you're dead."

"You know Anita Blake?" She asked. Willie swallowed and nodded, careful not to dislodge the sword at his throat as he feared that it would scar him. "And she's still in town?"

This time he did not answer, this was stupid, he knew that now. As she raised the sword slightly Willie only had time to send up a silent prayer for his soul.

"Well then, Let her come and do her worst." The hunter said with a wry laugh, bringing the sword down to sever his neck and basking in the best kill so far as the blood from his jugular spurted out violently until his heart ceased it's beating. She enjoyed watching the blood that he had taken from other souls seep from his own, knowing that this was a good way to exact revenge. She especially loved it when they begged her not to take their pathetic lives, somehow it made the kill even more enjoyable.

As Gloria looked down at her twentieth victim she smiled, she knew that St. Louis had been a good idea. There were rumours that there was a population here that was Vampire friendly, and that this made a lot of the undead morons think the city was a safe place for them to be. She would show them just how wrong they were, nowhere was safe for the killers, not while she was around and if she could not talk the Executioner around then she would kill her too. There was only one thing wrong than a gullible human that believed Vampires had rights and that was one, like Anita Blake, that should have known better. Gloria would relish killing her, as a child she had heard rumours of the ruthless Executioner only to hear later that they were just stories now, and that the once merciless Blake had turned into a weak lamb. Even if she was human there were some of them that didn't deserve to live either and having become the Master's whore Anita Blake was top of Gloria's human kill list.

\------------------------

Part 4 - Closer to Home.

Edward was staying wherever the hell he stayed when he was in town, he did not tell Anita such things and she was not inclined to ask. She had greater worries on her mind. Jason had come in late that night after Edward had left and carried in his arms a sleeping Julianna, Anita had arranged for her to stay at her friend's house wishing the girl to be around humans and she had asked her to keep her overnight. Jason rarely went against her orders although he often pushed the envelope to its limit, why then was Julianna here with him when she had expressly asked Ronnie to keep her the night. It was a signifier that there was something wrong and that Richard had ordered the wolf to bring her here, it had to have come from the Ulfric because he was the only one who ranked higher in the pack than Anita; more than that he was the only one that Jason took orders from except her - not that Jason was that high in the running by any means but everyone else know that to mess with Jason was to mess with Anita and no one was that stupid.

"What are you doing here?" Anita asked him as soon as he came in. Jason had ignored her, instead carrying Julianna to her room and settling her in before closing th door to and then facing the question.

"Willie McCoy was killed this evening. Murdered." Jason said. "Jean-Claude didn't order it done and whoever did it seemed to be an expert with the killing of Vampires."

Anita did not react as Jason would have expected, sure she looked down and let out a sigh but there was none of the shock that he had expected.

"You knew already didn't you?" Jason asked, shocked that she would do such a thing. Unless Willie had been a risk to her family it was not like Anita to kill, even then she would have had to defer to Jean-Claude's decision, he was after all the Master of the City. Anita may do Richard's killing for him when needed but she was not authorised to act for the Master, not unless he had told her to do so. "What did he do to you?"

"I didn't kill him." Anita said, but she smiled. "If I had wanted him dead he would not have stayed alive after Nikolaus, or after the incident with the Traveller. There is no way that I would do this to him. But I know someone that would."

"Where is Ted Forrester?" Jason asked, suddenly interested.

Anita smirked, she liked that way he thought, Edward had been her suspect too but she was pretty sure that while Willie was being slaughtered the assasin had been waiting at her house for her to get back from the police station.

"He is in town but it wasn't him." Anita said. "There is someone else that hates Vampires even more than he does."

"Who?" Jason asked, the question a natural one after what Anita had told him.

As Anita thought about filling Jason in she wondered whether she could really risk the Pack or the Pard in order to save the Vampires. The wolves, she supposed, were honour bound to their Master because they were Jean-Claude's animal to call but the wereleopards and werepanthers had no such connection. If she told Jason then word would get out about this killer and Anita was certain that if Edward was right and this girl was as good as she had once been then many of them would die.

"No one special." Anita replied nonchalantly. It felt good to be going this alone again, at least for a little while. She stood and moved to her room to get a few items together, she wanted to be ready when the time came.

"Where are you going?" Jason asked a moment later as she came down the stairs, an old sports bag over her shoulder and dressed all in black, he could see the holster that she wore against her black vest top.

"Out." Anita replied. "Take Julianna to Richard and wait for my word. I want her out of the way of as many Vampires as possible."

Jason smirked as he pictured himself recounting those words to his Ulfric. Richard Zeeman had been trying for years to get Anita and Julianna away from Jean-Claude and the others and now she was telling him that he had carte blanche to do just that. If nothing else it would buy him a reprieve for the next time that he had to step in on Anita's behalf against their fearless leader.

"Richard is going to love this." Jason said, his smile wide.

"Just make sure that she is safe. Use the Pard if you have to, they know that your word is as good as an order from me. I want her protected but most of all I want her safe."

Jason knew that she meant it, and he could see the look of callousness in her eyes as she did so. He knew that to fail her on this would mean death, she had sworn once that she would protect him but Julianna was the most important person in her life and that look in her eyes said as much. A few critics had mentioned that since her child was born Anita had mellowed but he knew different, if nothing else Jason knew that she was like a lionness protecting her cub and no one would get by her. Whoever had pissed in Anita's pot and killed someone that she considered a friend was going to pay dearly for their mistake.

She may have taken a little time off to have a child but like many mothers Anita was returning to work and this time the Executioner had someone to come home to. He had once heard it said that having family was a weakness for a ruthless killer but seeing the look in her eyes and the way she had dressed as she put on the sheaths and holsters to carry her weapons Jason knew that if anything she would be worse now. Anita could have gotten careless before, back then it was only her life at stake. Now she had someone to care for and this killer was threatening that.

Yes, the Executioner was back, only this time it was personal.

\--------------------

Anita was surprised to see that Edward was waiting outside her house when she went out the next morning, he was sitting on the hood of his black 4 Runner and had his arms crossed in front of him, clearly showing the bulge of muscles in his forearms. Anita wondered if he had been working out, then decided that she really needed to get laid, she had two men at her disposal and yet even with them around she had not gotten any in a while, she supposed that children would do that for you. But sleeping with Edward would be like having sex with a cousin, not completely illegal but a complete turn off. She decided to bury the thoughts and instead moved to the passenger side of the vehicle.

"Are we going?" She asked impatiently. Edward slid from the front of the hood and moved to the driver's side door, opening it he got in and leaned over to open the door for her, she opened it abruptly and slid in.

"So, where first?" Edward asked.

"There was another victim last night." Anita said, not wanting to say who it was. "I think that maybe we should check out the graveyard."

Edward looked at her puzzled for a moment and then a small smile of satisfaction spread across his face.

"It's good to have you back."

Anita ignored his sarcasm but she could not help the smile. It was good to be back.

\---------------------

Just as Anita thought the graveyard was surrounded by police tape, cordoning off the area where Willie had died but the scene had long since been left alone and she was able to walk it without any hinderance. The police seemed to think that if they just left it alone with the yellow tape around it no one would cross the boundary they had set up. Anita supposed that to a lot of people there was a barrier that they would not cross, but in this city there were just as many people that would want to see where the Vampire had died.

After watching Anita walk around the area a few times Edward felt that he had to ask.

"Anything?"

"I feel something." Anita said, hating the fact that she could not be more specific. "Some residual trace of energy or something but not anything that I can put my finger on."

"You want to see the police report?" Edward asked, pulling a folder out of the car.

"Why didn't you tell me you had that before I came out to this graveyard and waded ankle deep into the mud?" Anita asked, her voice bordering on angry.

"You didn't ask." Edward rejoined. "Besides you were calling the shots and you wanted to come out here, I thought that you might want to get a 'feel' for the place."

"What aren't you telling me?" Anita asked, but he did not answer, instead he moved to the driver's side of the car, leaving the folder on the bonnet. Anita took it before getting in on her own side. "So, where are we going now?" She asked as Edward drove.

Anita flicked through the folder, getting another look at the photographs that Zerbrowski had already shown her and also taking in the notes that the officers had made. Edward was silent, pulling his 4 Runner into the district before turning to her.

"So, Are you going to introduce me to the Master of the City?" Edward asked. "I think he'd be interested in what we know."

"I'm still not falling for that one." Anita said, Edward had learned that Jean-Claude was the Master of the City but she did not want the two getting together. Her life was complicated enough with two of the men in her life at each other's throats, she thought that it would be easier if she didn't have to live with another two.

"And will I get to meet the lovely Julianna on this trip?" He asked with a smile. "Last time I saw her she was a small baby."

Anita's face softened as he spoke of her daughter, there was a brief moment and then her face hardened again. He was trying to pick a fight, Anita was sure of that, what she didn't know was why.

"Go to the Circus of the Damned." Anita barked, more of an order than a request. "They'll both be there and we can talk to some of the others while we are there."

"Oh goodie, more monsters. Just what I needed to make this night complete." Edward said sarcastically. Anita smiled.

"Actually I was thinking you could talk to the patrons, they will want this person caught just as much as we do."

Edward's face clouded for a moment but Anita could not see the expression.

"Who said I wanted her caught?" Edward stated blankly and Anita knew what the look was, he was being ruthless and deadly. Edward had no intention of letting her take this Gloria Van Helsing to the police, he was going to exact his own kind of justice. If any more of her friends were killed Anita thought that she would be inclined to agree.

\------------------

Part 5 - The plot thickens…

Gloria watched the car as it drew into the parking lot of the Circus of the Damned. The one thing that Gloria prided herself on was information and as soon as she had found out about the lair of the Master of the City she had started her surveillance. Killing was a skill that she had learned early, but patience was one that she was still developing. It was one that was helping her up her kill rate to a respectable figure and she was sure that she would soon be ready to take on the one person that she thought might hold the secret to them all.

The vampires in this city were complacent, many of them were too busy practising their showmanship to fear anything other than the Master of the City. She could see why when she wondered if the stories were true.

In a town outside Tijuana Gloria had heard the stories of a drunken lycanthrope who had told of the truimphant return of a hero, A Nimir Ra who had taken the broken pard of two cities and united them as one strong unit. They had called her the executioner, but she no longer killed Vampires as she had finally been tamed by one. In a similar tale she heard in New Mexico of a young woman that had dealt with a beast, fought with her very life to save the world and won.

At first Gloria had set these aside as myths, rumours that were passed around to scare small children or keep the unruly lycanthropes and fledgling vampires in line. Then the same name kept appearing, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. It was almost as if she was famous, in back rooms and bars she was known as one feisty lady. That was the type of reputation that Gloria wanted. At least it was until she had heard of Anita's child.

Gloria had seen, as so many do in adolescence, the hero of her teenage years falling away to a real person. Anita Blake was not a hero, she was a whore, worse than that though, a Vampire's whore. And to Gloria there was no greater crime.

Gloria had watched her parents torn apart by a Vampire Gang that had taken umbrage at her father's profession and at fourteen she had been left alone, fighting for her life and her destiny. That destiny was sinple: To kill the vampires that had stolen her innocence, taking their lives as they had stolen her parents. In doing this she hoped that one day enough blood would flow to wipe their deaths off of her own conscience. Although so far it wasn't working.

Anita Blake stepped out of the car and waited, watching as the driver too stepped out. Gloria smiled when she saw the face. Death, also known as the Undertaker. He had once been one of Van Cleef's best killers, at least until he had taken out one of their own. Van Cleef still used him from time to time but only when there was no one else. Blake was a known associate of the assasin but Gloria wondered if he was there for the Master or there for her. She had certainly pissed off Van Cleef enough for him to put out the hit on her, even if she was his most talented prodigy of late. Van Cleef didn't like agents that went rogue and she had done just that, killing an employer because he was a Vampire. She had wondered if he would do more than dock her wages.

There was also something that unnerved Van Cleef in the way that she conducted her business. Never taking payment unless it was a human that she killed. Gloria killed humans for money, the rest were just favours to humanity or part of the blood oath of vengeance that she had sworn on her parent's grave.

As she watched the two make their way into the fortress that was the Circus of the Damned, Gloria wondered how she could get in. There had to be a weak link in the chain and when she found it she would be in. Then she would start her plan. And so what if the Undertaker was there, that just made the whole game a little more interesting. Van Cleef always told his operatives that the Undertaker was off limits and not to be messed with but if she could take him out then she would really be the stuff of legends.

\------------------

Edward was wary as soon as they stepped in the door. He checked the locks after the werewolf on guard had locked them and then checked his own weapons. Even when he was secure he was cautious.

Anita wondered if Edward had been born with a Peter Parker style spider sense, the other man certainly seemed to worry a lot when they were in one of the most secure buildings in the city. Edward did not know that the Master slept here but if he did then he would know just how safe this place was. No one wanted Jean-Claude dead, not when a peace had been so hard to win. At least for the moment they were safe.

"So, where is the little one?" Edward asked, checking the knife on his wrist one last time and giving the wolf that led the way a cautious glance. The wolf shivered as if someone had stepped on his grave and Anita wondered if that was what he felt, she could almost visualise Edward's gaze boring into the poor man.

"Juan Carlos, where is Julianna?" She asked the cowering wolf.

"She is with Richard." He said, Anita tried hard not to roll her eyes and sighed enough to let him know that this was not a good enough answer. "In the main room."

Edward was about to ask for further clarification, willing to use force if necessary but Anita seemed to know what that meant as she headed in one direction with purpose.

They came into the room and she saw Jean-Claude, Asher, Richard, Rafael and Christine were all huddled around the room, at one end of a sofa Julianna lay asleep in Jason's lap. Jason too was asleep.

"It is good of you to join us Ma Petite. And you brought a friend." Jean-Claude said humourlessly. Anita did not go for him, instead she glared at Richard.

"I told Jason I wanted you as far as away from them as possible." Anita said. Richard glared back at her.

"Jason does not order me and neither do you." He replied formally.

It was not her lover that speak but her Ulfric. A few years before Anita would not have been able to tell the difference, but now she knew. She knew that it was not only stupid to take on Richard, it was dangerous. Anita also knew that when he was in this mood he was not to be crossed. People thought that Jean-Claude was impulsive but really it was Richard that was prone to snap, especially this close to the full moon. So like a good Lupa bitch she kept her mouth shut.

"Jean-Claude called me to tell me what was going on. I'm surprised that you weren't here before me." Richard continued when he was sure that she was not going to retort or question his authority.

"I had other things to deal with." Anita said.

She watched the other occupants of the room carefully. Rafe was having a glaring match with Asher, Christine seemed nervous as she was most outnumbered and Jean-Claude was smiling, as if he had orchestrated the whole thing. Anita wondered what her place was in this merry band of miscreants, she hated to admit that she was one of them at all but she seemed to fit in here.

"Have the police come to interview you yet?" Anita asked the Master directly.

"Why would they Petite? I have nothing to hide."

Jean-Claude was suffocating when he was being this nice. Anita hated it because she knew that he was a kitten only until the claws came out, then he was a violent cat that was ready to kill.

"Actually, I think Anita meant more about her than about anything you might do." Edward supplied dryly. "She's a suspect in the killings."

Asher stood and moved to Julianna when she snuffled in her sleep, Edward snorted as he watched the Vampire hold her. Asher watched the child as if he loved her but Edward knew that monsters were not capable of love. They had their own facsimiles of it in lust and obsession but none of them could love in the ways that humans could. Anita's relationships with these men was a testament to that fact.

"You have a problem with me being with my servant?" Asher asked him, but Edward did not react. Instead he moved to take a seat and reached for a knife, laying it along his calf within easy reach and then sat stoicly as he too became one of the occupants of the room, blending in with the others that seemed ill at ease.

"We need a plan." Anita said firmly after a few moments silence, it was almost as if they were looking to her to lead.

She was second to everyone, not a vampire but a servant, a Lupa not an Ulfric, a partner not an assasin, and yet she was the one that they looked to. At the end of the day Anita wondered if she was the only one with any balls. Not that Edward didn't have any but he was his usual stoic self and if they waited for him to discuss a plan there would be no vampires left to save, in fact if they left it up to Edward that probably would be his plan.

"We set a trap, we kill her." Edward said surprising Anita with his frankness and readiness to cooperate with the monsters of the city. "There must be something that she wants."

"You do not know what you are saying." Asher said harshly. There was only a few things that were good enough draws to pull this killer from their hiding and Asher did not want to risk any of them.

"The Master of the City would be nice bait to use, that would leave the spot open for you." Richard reasoned with Asher.

The hard expression on Asher's face did not change, if anything it only hardened as he tightened his resolve not to speak out of turn while also holding in the part of him that wanted to kill Richard.

"Batard. Do not dare to accuse me." Asher said. "Jean-Claude is my Master and my friend, but more than that he is my brother."

"This isn't going to solve anything." Christine put in, wondering why she was trying to mediate a fight between two of the more dangerous men in the city. Still, they had to get this over with an a swift exit could only be made after the plans were solidified and set in motion. If she wasn't there to represent her poorly maintained group of lycanthrope misfits then they would get sent in as cannon fodder and that was the last thing that she needed.

"Christine is right." Anita said, glad that there was at least one other person in the room that would see sense. "But I am not willing to risk anyone else in the city." Anita said, pointing this at Edward who had come up with the idea.

"So we wait until she kills someone else?" Rafael asked. "Willie wasn't exactly my friend but he didn't deserve to die."

Anita knew that he was right. Rafael was the type of man that you didn't notice, the type that would stoically risk his life, go along with you and then disappear once the killing was done. A little like Edward. Anita wondered what his interests were in this but she did not have the heart to ask him. Rafael fought the battles that he thought were worth fighting and didn't take orders from anyone, maybe he just thought this was worth it.

"No." Anita said. "There is one person that she might face."

"No." Edward said, apparently he was the only one that had understood Anita's remark. "You aren't ready to face her Anita. She is better than you."

Anita looked to Edward and to the rest of the room it felt as if they were at a face off, neither had drawn a weapon but they didn't need one in their hand to do damage, if there was a few seconds then they could be armed to the teeth and at each other's throats.

Finally it was Anita that backed down.

"Then teach me," were her only words.

Edward nodded solemnly but he wondered if he was sending her to her death.

\-------------------


End file.
